The semi-final line-up at the African Nations Cup finals suggests the smart money should be on one of Cote d'Ivoire or Ghana to go on and lift the trophy.
The fact that the pair have been separated by the last four draw opens up the enticing prospect of a final between the two, though they have one more hurdle to cross before that becomes a reality.
In a semi-final on Wednesday, Cote d'Ivoire will play DR Congo, a useful side who have potential match-winners, but nowhere near the quality through the park that the Elephants possess.
And Ghana must face-off against hosts Equatorial Guinea, a contest made more difficult for the Black Stars because they will be playing in front of what is likely to be an enthusiastic home crowd, and with the knowledge that their opponents have received two soft penalties in as many games to get to this point.
Both Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire will expect to win.
A win for each would end a long wait for the continental championship. The Black Stars last tasted success in 1982 and the Ivorians in 1992 - when they defeated Ghana in the final in a marathon penalty shoot-out.
Ghana coach Avram Grant, only installed in the position late last year, says his side is improving with every game they play and will hope they are yet to peak following a comfortable 3-0 win over Guinea in the quarter-finals.
"The team showed a good attitude today and has a lot of qualities. It's the most important. Each of our games has been better than the previous one since the beginning of the tournament and it's my greatest satisfaction," Grant told reporters.
"We played very well in this quarter-final against a very good team. We watched Equatorial Guinea's game against Tunisia on Saturday. We are going to focus on them now, but remain before all focused on ourselves.
"It's always tricky to play the host country in front of their fans but each game is a challenge."
By contrast, Ivorian coach Herve Renard says his side have not played anywhere near as well as they can and admits they did get fortunate in their 3-1 last eight success over Algeria.
"In terms of football, ball skills, Algeria was better than us," Renard said.
"We must be clear with ourselves and do not think we were too good. We found the most effective tactic against a team that plays on the ground and made the best use of set-pieces.
"But that is not our fault if Algeria has not been good in this area. It was the team that played well in the tournament, but [we won] 3-1. We will not say sorry to have won."
